1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to image displaying devices in which buttons displayed on display screens of display units are selected by cursors to switch the display screens, and particularly, to an image displaying device having an automatic function for pulling a cursor towards the center of a button when the cursor approaches to an area having a predetermined radius from the display position of the button.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, for central control devices for in-vehicle electronic apparatuses, for example, an image displaying device, such as the one disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-84875 shown (refer to FIG. 3), which includes a display unit that displays a cursor and one or multiple buttons, an input unit for moving the cursor and for selecting a button, and a controller for controlling the display unit and the input unit has been proposed. In such a device, the cursor is moved to a display position of the desired button to select the button so that a display screen of the display unit is switched to a screen corresponding to the selected button.
For example, in a central control device for in-vehicle electronic apparatuses, an initial screen displays a cursor and buttons which indicate types of in-vehicle electronic apparatuses, such as air conditioners, CD players, radios, and car navigation systems, that are controllable by the central control device. If an air conditioner button is selected, for example, a subsequent screen may display a cursor and buttons which indicate adjustment options of the air conditioner for, for example, temperature, air flow, and nozzles. Subsequently, if the temperature button is selected, for example, a subsequent screen may then display a cursor, a raise-temperature button, and a lower-temperature button. By operating the raise-temperature button or the lower-temperature button, the preset temperature of the air conditioner may be changed.
A cursor on a display screen is manually operated using an operating part, such as a joystick, provided in the input unit. For this reason, for an image displaying device, such as a central control device for in-vehicle electronic apparatuses, that is used in an environment where the device may receive external vibrations, it is not necessarily easy to move the cursor accurately and promptly to the desired button. To enable easier selection of the desired button, it is desirable that, when the operation of the input unit allows the cursor to approach within a predetermined range from the center of the button, the cursor is pulled automatically to the center of the button.
Although technology for pulling cursors is common in the technical field of information processing devices, it has been proved that mere application of such a technology to image displaying devices may cause the following disadvantage.
In detail, when the display screen of the display unit is switched from a previous screen to its following screen, if the position of the cursor in the previous screen is near a set position of a button in the following screen, the operating part provided in the input unit is driven abruptly in response to the pulling of the cursor. This may tend to cause sense of discomfort and uneasiness for the operator, and moreover, may cause selection of an undesired button.